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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
June 1926
“ troubled in spirit,” when he remembered his dream (Gen. .41:8). . _ Conscience. Conscience is the power to adjudicate. The apostle In the consciousness of his inner being judged the sin of the sinning brother at Corinth, hence, he says he acted in his “ spirit” (1 Cor. 5 :4 ). Reason. Reason is the power to distinguish. By appo sition (the state of two nouns put in the same case, without a connecting word between them) the prophet recognizes this, when he says, “ The man of the spirit is mad” (Hos. 9:7, margin), that is, he is devoid of reason. Every one of these traits of man’s nature indicates thoughtful ¡ and intelligent action, and makes us say with Longfellow, “ Glorious indeed is the world of God around us, but more glorious is the world of God within us.” Behind all these traits we must never forget there is the Ego, the personal consciousness, the man himself; and while we may say “ man has a spirit,” the spirit is abso lutely allied with himself, is himself. This is clearly taught in both the Old and New Testaments, as may be apprehended by the use of “ Ruach” and “ Pneuma.” Jacob’s revived spirit (Gen. 45:27), Israel’s anguish of spirit (Ex. 6 :9 ), Hannah’s sorrowful spirit (1 Sam. 1 :15 ); Ahab’s sad spirit (1 Kings 21 :5 ), Job’s agonized spirit (Job 7 :2 ); Christ "sighing in His Spirit” (Mark 8 :12 ); Mary’s joyful spirit (Luke 1 :47 ); Paul’s stirred spirit (A ctl’ 17 :6 ); the godly wife’s quiet spirit (1 Pet. 3 :4 ); the apostles’ rest less spirit (2 Cor. 2:13 ),— all proclaim the identification of the spirit with the individual as being in him (Job 32:8; Prov. 20:27; 12 :1 ;-1 Cor. 2:2).' And yet the spirit is the individual also, for God, as the God of men, is said to be “ the God of the spirits of all flesh” (Num. 16:22; 27:16). Recapitulation To briefly sum up and recapitulate! “ Man as a spirit” suggests the -thoughts of invisibility, individuality, intel lectuality, capacity, identity, immateriality and continuity. Invisibility As the meaning of the word “ PneiSna” is “ to breathe,” and indicates air in motion, as the wind is a potent although invisible force, so spirit speaks of that unseen part of man’s nature which is described as “ the inner man” (2 Cor. 4:16) and the "hidden man” (1 Pet. 3 :4 ), in contrast to the “ out- ward man” of his body. Individuality As a person is conscious of his own personality, and others recognize him in his individuality, so spirit is identi fied with individual consciousness; hence, we never read of “ the spirit of men” , although we read of “ the soul of thine enemies” (2 Chron. 1 :2 ), because “ the soul” denotes a com mon life; but. we do read of the “ spirit of man” , and “ the spirits of men” (1 Cor. 2:2; Heb: 12:23-). Intellectuality As it is a law of psychology that “ knowledge implies a subject possessed of the capacity or power to know,” so man, as a spirit, is endowed with intelligence which en ables him to acquire knowledge. A man knows what he knows, for who among men "knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit o f man” (1 Cor. 2:2 R. V .). Capacity What is the difference between the natural man, as a spirit, and the spiritual man? The natural man has self- consciousness, and is able to grasp things generally with his mind; the spiritual man has God-consciousness, and, being made alive and illumined by the Holy Spirit, is able to know God in Christ (John 17 :3 ). and to apprehend spir itual things with his heart and mind (1 Cor. 2:9-16; Eph. 1:18).
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Identity Man, like God, is an ever-living spirit. The image and likeness of God, denoting man as an imperishable being, have not been annihilated (though marred) by sin; there fore God and man are forever identified as Creator and creature, for while the latter may come under the Judgment of. God as a sinner, he still Uves “ according to God in spirit (no article in 1 Pet. 4 :6 ). A spirit is independent of material things. Christ, in His Spirit-form, could pass through material substances, which separated others from the disciples in the upper room (John 20:19). Eliphaz (Job 4:15), the disciples (Luke 24: 37) and the witch of Endor recognize the Immateriality of the spirit world (1 Sam. 28:18). Christ and Stephen com mending their spirits to God (Luke 23:46; .^ t s 7.59 . the perfected spirits of the departed saints (Heb. 12.23), and the conscious existence of Dives in the abode of the lost, all proclaim the existence of man as a spirit when sep arated from the body, and therefore not material. Continuity -One Has sa id ,“ TheJJible represents unseen spirits as con scious beings possessing both personality and individuality. The only conclusion we can therefore come to is that when man becomes a spirit, he loses neither the consciousness of himself as an existing person, nor of others as separate beings knowing him and known by him; that is to say, he retains his personality and individuality. Why? Because neither the one nor the other depended upon the body left behind in the grave.” This is plainly taught by Christ, for in speaking of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob He says^ “ God is (not was) not the God of the dead, but the living; and as such He is, as Christ said, “ The God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Matt. 22.82).. From the teaching of the Word, we therefore conclude man is: 1. Divine in his origin— “ God of spirits” (Num. 16:22). 2. Conscious in existencer—“ Carried away in spirit” (no article, Rev. 21:10). , 3. Indestructible in nature— “ Spirit is the lamp of Jeho vah” (Prov. 20:27). ~ 4. Immaterial in substance— "The inward man” (2 Cor. 4 :16 ). V 6. Independent of his body— “ There is a spirit in man (Job 32:8). , 14„ 6. Distinct in his capacity— “ Perceived in his spirit (Mark 2 :8 ). 7. Personal in his ego— “ Your spirit” (Philemon 25). (The next study will be (D.V.) on “ The Soul of Man” ).
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